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Piano virtuoso Lang Lang just raced sprinter Usain Bolt (on the keyboard) - and it was a tie

24 August 2015, 17:12

The Chinese pianist's fast fingers took centre stage at the Beijing National Stadium for world athletics championships 2015 - but 100m title-holder Usain Bolt was just bemused.

There was some pianistic drama in the tense build-up to yesterday's world championship 100 metres final. Superstar Chinese pianist Lang Lang - very familiar with all things prestissimo - took centre stage in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium alongside the world's fastest athletes. He performed a playful '100cm dash' on the keyboard just before the championship's showcase final.

Lang Lang let fly with a flurry of notes, aiming to complete his piano run within the current men's 100m world record time of 9.58 seconds.

Of course he nailed it - but how did the sprinter respond to this extraordinary display of pianistic speed?

A bit quicker next time, Lang Lang.

Watch the full exchange here:

Perhaps taking a little inspiration from the virtuoso, Usain Bolt went on to win gold in the 100m final, beating American sprinter Justin Gatlin to the line by one-hundredth of a second. Looks like he got a nice classical prize from the pianist.